Vinicius Junior deletes Instagram history amid Arsenal interest despite new Real Madrid contract offer

According to the Daily Mail, Real Madrid are growing increasingly confident of retaining Vinicius after offering him a lucrative new deal. The club have proposed a substantial salary increase, which would see Vinicius earn £18.5 million per year. Talks over an extension to a contract that expires next June first began in January 2025.

Jose Mourinho, who has returned for a second spell in the capital, views Vinicius as a vital component of his rebuild. Despite a turbulent previous campaign where Real Madrid went a second consecutive season without winning a major trophy, they are determined not to lose their prized asset on a free transfer.

Despite the growing optimism at the Bernabeu, Vinicius added to the uncertainty on Wednesday night by wiping his entire Instagram history. The page, which boasts nearly 64m followers, currently displays no images, bio, or profile picture. All photographs featuring his training sessions and matches for Real Madrid have been completely removed.

Such a dramatic social media blackout is not uncommon among modern players and is often interpreted as a sign of dissatisfaction with their current club. This unusual behaviour has only fuelled rumours that a move to the Premier League champions could still materialise, even though Vinicius returned to his pre-season camp on Monday to undergo standard medical tests and train under Mourinho.

Arsenal are waiting in the wings and hoping to capitalise on any breakdown in negotiations. The club have already shown their intent by completing the £34m signing of Christos Tzolis, and manager Mikel Arteta insists they remain ambitious.

Following a pre-season friendly against Girona, Arteta explained his plans for the transfer window. "We expect to have movements in the next few weeks, obviously," Arteta said. "We want to get better like anybody else, and you can see the transfer market and our opponents... We won't sit still and we are very ambitious with what we are doing. The margins are very small. Because we want to get better and the level is going to increase. We need to increase the competition internally. We need to make sure we identify the things that we don't have in the team."

Vinicius must now decide whether to commit his peak years to Real Madrid or pursue a fresh challenge with Arsenal. Real Madrid will push for a swift resolution to prevent this saga from disrupting their season preparations. If an agreement cannot be reached, Arsenal are perfectly positioned to test Madrid's resolve before the transfer window shuts.